Easy Wine Making
Written by Pierre Duponte   
Tuesday, 20 October 2009 10:02
The basic concept of how wine is produced is for the most part, is common knowledge. We all know that grapes are squished and fermented for a period of time to turn into wine. But, the process of making wine is an art that is reserved for those who put in the effort
by PierreDuponte


The basic concept of how wine is produced is for the most part, is common knowledge. We all know that grapes are squished and fermented for a period of time to turn into wine. But, the process of making wine is an art that is reserved for those who put in the effort

It takes about fifty pounds of good, rip grapes to produce about five gallons of terrific wine. Materials like plastic vats large enough to accommodate grapes can be purchased from your local wine supply shop. Once the grapes are harvested youll need to place the grape clusters into the vat and crush them. The age old method of crushing the grapes by foot has not been surpassed by technology. But, for smaller vats, grapes can be crushed by hand or with a potato masher. Both work equally as well as the foot. The vat should be no more than two-thirds full when all of the grapes are crushed. Unwanted yeast can produce premature fermentation. You will need to add the appropriate amount of Campden tablets which is pre-measured amounts of potassium metabisulfite to the grapes to stop this unwanted yeast growth. Cover the vat with a towel and allow it to sit for a day.

The day after you have crushed the grapes youll need to add a packet of wine yeast. Bread yeast and wine yeast are two different yeasts and should not be substituted for each other. Montrachet and prix de mousse are common types of yeast used to ferment wine. The crushed grapes at this stage are known as the must. Use your hands to stir in the yeast. Comb through the must and remove the cluster of stems. Squeeze off any of the berries that may still be attached to the stems. Only a few stems can be left in the must. Cover the vat of must with a towel and set to the side. In about one or two days the must will begin to fizz. By the third day the must will appear to be boiling.

Filtering To filter it, the wine can strained using a cheese cloth or mesh bag. Make sure to squeeze the must thoroughly to remove all juices. The resulting liquid is to be stored in a glass carboy or into an empty wine barrel (also available at your local wine supply store). From this point on, oxidization of the wine must be prevented at all costs by eliminating all contact with air. Many wine makers choose to use an airlock to keep oxygen out, but allow gases produced during fermentation to escape.

Racking At this stage, it will only take 2-3 weeks for the fizzing to stop. Once the fizzing stops, its time to rack the wine. Racking will remove what is called the lees from the wine. Lees is the used up yeast and grape pieces that remain, unconsumed, at the bottom of the barrel of carboy. A common way of doing this, is siphoning the wine out of the container to clean the bottom. Once the bottom of the lees has been removed, the wine is to be poured back into the container. A second racking will be required 2-3 months after the first, with a third and final racking 3-4 months after that.

The wine can then be aged in a pitch-black dark, cool place until its ready to be drank. Even though the wine can be tasted at this point, the longer you leave it to age, the fuller the flavor will be.

About the Author:

Pierre Duponte is a grape growing expert. He spends his time teaching others how to make fine wines. For more great tips on easy wine making or you can get his free 10 part mini course on grape growing and how to make wine visit http://www.grapegrowingwinemakingtips.com/.